DeMar’s Team

The NBA is all about small sample sizes. With 82 games a year, and 48 minutes a night, a player can be ice cold one week, and red hot the next. 

This past week has been all about DeMar DeRozan. The super-sophomore put up 37 and 27 in back-to-back games against Houston and Boston. While the Raptors have been struggling with injuries, hence the expanded role for the California native, many fans were hoping to see such an emergence from DeRozan at some point this year. 

The most appealing players in the draft in recent years have been the long, athletic players who do not fit a certain position or role. Many combo guards and multi talented front court players have been drafted high based on their raw athletic skills, rather then their basketball ability. Some say that point guards are taking over the league, with Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, John Wall and Tyreke Evans changing the face of the position. But they are simply extremely gifted athletes that do not fall into the mould of a typical point guard. Instead of facilitating the offence like a true point guard, this new generation of guards attacks the bucket and knocks down jumpers. 

DeMar was one of those highly athletic players who had not yet mastered the finer parts of the game when he was drafted after spending one year at USC. He was able to jump over anyone and could run the floor with the best of them. As a result he was drafted 9th overall, ahead of players such as Brandon Jennings, Jrue Holiday and Darren Collison, all of whom are considered to be more of real point guards than combos like DeMar.

But DeMar is no longer just a jumper. He has worked on his mid-range game tirelessly, and is currently averaging 14 per. He lacks much of an all around game that many teams covet, but Jay Triano has made it work in his rotation of rotation this year.

After those two big games that DeMar had, where he averaged 32, Bargnani returned from his injury and DeRozan took a step back. It is difficult for both the Italian 7-footer and and slashing Compton native to coexist, no matter what they may say in public. They both need their shots, but they excel is such a different form of offence that it is not easy for them to work on the floor together.

DeMar excels in the open floor and working out of transition, while Bargnani works better in the half-court set where he can jab step his way to oblivion. Since Andrea first broke into the league, it has been easy to tell that he would be a good, but not great player. He is half a step slower on his drives, and attributes the majority of his success to his high release point. So the question must be asked.

Are the Raptors better off without Bargnani after this season?

Il Mago is owed $41 million over the next 4 years, and is entering the prime of his career. But he quite simply does not mesh with the rest of the core players playing style. He is 25 years old, averaging 21 per and has a pure stroke.

So why would a young, rebuilding team want to get rid of a player with such credentials? Because the players that Colangelo has been surrounding him with are not the European system players of years past. While he did decide to give Linas Kleiza the Brinks truck in the off-season, the rest of the core are runners and jumpers who struggle in the half-court.

DeMar DeRozan, Amir Johnson, Jerryd Bayless and Ed Davis are arguably the most promising players on the Raptors roster at this point. With the Raptors currently sitting at 12-23 on the season, another lottery pick will be on the squad next year, as well as a late first round pick from the Bosh trade. One of those players will hopefully turn into an impact player, and there you have a solid core of players moving into the future, without any mention of Bargnani. 

So which direction do the Raptors go? Continue trying to build a young athletic team with the hope of striking Oklahoma City type success, or continue straying on the usual unpredictable Colangelo path?

DeMar could become the next Vince or TMac, but he has to be given the opportunity to do so.